Driving along Forest Avenue, I hit a reality bump.

Story by Colin W. Sargent

My car’s digital navigator says I’m not driving on Forest Avenue anymore. This road, dead center of my comfort zone, is now the 10th Mountain Division Highway.

Originally Green Street, Forest Avenue first surfaced in city directories in 1858 and traces its beginnings to an area near what is now Longfellow Square in Portland. It was included as part of Route 302 (Roosevelt Trail) in 1936. In the 1920s, it was designated part of Route 18. Millennia earlier, it was a footpath from Machigonne (Algonquian for “Great Neck”) to the western mountains.

Which is a clue. Founded in 1943, the 10th Mountain Division earned its fame during alpine warfare in Italy. Soldiers on skis.

Read the full story in the digital magazine above.